title: Intravascular photoacoustic imaging of human coronary atherosclerosis.
abstract: We demonstrate intravascular photoacoustic imaging of human coronary atherosclerotic plaque. The data was obtained from two fresh human coronary arteries ex vivo, showing different stages of disease. A 1.25 mm diameter intravascular imaging catheter was built, comprising an angle-polished optical fiber adjacent to a 30 MHz ultrasound transducer. Specific photoacoustic imaging of lipid content, a key factor in vulnerable plaques that may lead to myocardial infarction, is achieved by spectroscopic imaging at different wavelengths between 1180 and 1230 nm. Simultaneous imaging with intravascular ultrasound was performed.
authors.affiliation: Thorax Center, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. krista.jansen@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: Antonius F W
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: van der Steen
authors.forename: Heleen M M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: van Beusekom
authors.forename: J Wolter
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Oosterhuis
authors.forename: Gijs
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van Soest
mesh_terms: D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000473:pathology